Television guy wire adjuster and anchor



y 1958 Q. w. ROGERS 2,843,902

TELEVISION GUY WIRE ADJUSTER AND ANCHOR Filed June 4, 1954 47 J0 198 \///1 Vi 7 INVENTOR. 'gzzizilrz%igms;

United States Patent TELEVISION GUY WIRE ADJUSTER AND ANCHOR Quentin W. Rogers, Eugene, Oreg. Application June 4, 1954, Serial No. 434,483

Claims. (Cl. 24---71.1)

This invention relates to improvements in wire tighteners which serve as anchors for wires.

The primary object of the invention is to provide practical and efficient devices of this kind which can be quickly and easily manipulated to tighten and anchor Wires secured thereto, which are simple in construction, and which are especially adapted for anchoring guy wires of such as antennae.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description, forming the specification, and taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a device embodying this invention shown installed on a supporting surface which is shown in cross section and withdrawn therefrom for manipulation;

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the device taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view, similar to Figure l, the device being partly broken away and shown securably engaged with the supporting surface;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken on the line 44 of Figure 3, showing the manner of engagement of a wire with the device; taken upon the legs of the device;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of the device of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a vertical transverse cross sectional view taken on line 66 of Figure 1, showing a clamping ring open;

Figure 7 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on line 77 of Figure 3, showing a clamping ring closed;

Figure 8 is a vertical transverse cross sectional view taken on line 8-8 of Figure 1;

Figure 9 is a vertical longitudinal section taken through a modified form of the invention;

Figure 10 is a fragmentary side elevational view of an end portion of another form of the invention;

Figure 11 is an end view taken from line 11-11 of Figure 10, and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring in detail to the drawings, and first to Figures 1 to 8 thereof, the numeral 10 generally designates a wire tightening and anchoring device which comprises an elongated solid body 12 of oval cross section, having end portions 14' and 16 having longitudinally outwardly tapered or inclined undersides 15 and 17. The end portions 14 and 16 are provided on their upper surfaces with pluralities of longitudinaly spaced, transverse teeth 18 and 20, respectively.

On the underside of the body 12 is a pair of longitudinally spaced, downwardly extending hooks 22 and 24, having legs 26 and 28 terminating in longitudinally outwardly projecting terminals 32 and 34, respectively. The hooks are located in the inward ends of the body end portions 14 and 16, and are equidistantly spaced from and at opposite sides of a central vertical bore 30 extending through the body 12.

For mounting the device on a supporting surface 40, a screw 36 is passed through the bore 30 and its threaded shank 38 is threaded into the supporting surface. The unthreaded shank portion 42 adjacent the head 37 of the screw 36 provides a shaft around which the device can be rotated.

Circumposed on the body end portions 14 and 16 are clamping rings, in the form of split resilient washers 46 and 48 of the lock type, which are adapted to seat in the notches between the teeth 18 and 20, respectively.

A wire 44, such as a guy wire of a television antenna or of a pole or post to be supported in upright position, has an intermediate portion 45, as shown in Figure 4, is passed around one side of the hook 22, around the other side of the screw 36, and around the other hook 24 and along a side of the hook 22, with end portions: 47 and 49 of the wire extending longitudinally outwardly in opposite directions through related washers 46 and 43 at the undersides of the body end portions 14 and 16.

The teeth 18 and 20 are preferably ratchet teeth facing inwardly, so that the washers 46 and 48 can be ratcheted inwardly to be held in place when moved inwardly along the body end portions 14 and 16 toward the thicker inner ends of the portions 14 and 16 so as to clamp the wire ends between the undersides 15 and 1.7 and the edges of the openings 46' of the washers, as shown in Figure 3.

The Winding of the intermediate part of the wire on the hooks is done with the screw 36 backed out, and with the washers loose on the wire ends 47 and 49, by rotating the body 12 on the screw 36 to take up the slack in the wire 44. p When the desired amount of tautness or tension in the wire 44 has been obtained by rotating the body 12, the slotted washers 46 and 48 are moved inwardly along the gradually enlarging body end portions 14 and 16 until they lockingly engage the proper teeth l8 and 20, with the wire ends 47 and 49 engaged in longitudinally extending grooves 50 and 52 formed in the undersides 15 and 17 of the portions 14 and 16, whereby the washers are positively maintained in clamping positions.

The device is then secured non-rotatably to the supporting surface 40 by turning the screw 36 into the supporting surface until wedge-shaped projections 54 and 56 on the undersides of the terminals 32 and 34, having sharp lower edges 57, as shown in Figure 8, become embedded in the supporting surface 40, as shown in Figure 3.

If, later on, it becomes necessary to eliminate slack in the wire 44, it is merely necessary to back out the screw 36 and rotate the device in the proper direction, and then re-anchor the device 10 in the supporting surface as above described.

The form of the invention shown in Figure 9, and generally designated 10a differs from that shown in Figures 1 to 8, in that the hooks 22a and 24a have enlarged knoblike terminals 64 and 66 having wedge-shaped projections 54a and 56a on their lower ends, having sharp lower edges 57a.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 10 and 11, and generally designated 10b, teeth 18 and :20 on the body end portions 14b and 16b are omitted and their functions and those of the washers 46 and 48 are performed by spiral helixes 72 on the outer ends of the body end portions 14b and 16b, through which the wire ends 47 and 49 of the wire 44 are to be threaded.

It will be noted from a study of Figure 6, that the clamping washers 46 and 48 have slots 45 through which the wire 44 is passed into the openings 46 thereof. It should be noted that the tapering sides of the Wedgeshaped projections 54 and 56 may be serrated, as shown in Figure 8, in order to provide a better grip when indenting the supporting surface 40.

Patented July 22, 1958 While there are shown and described herein preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the structure thereof are susceptible of change and modification within the practicability of the invention and the invention is limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

1. A wire tightening and anchoring device comprising a longitudinally elongated body, said body having end portions having upper sides and undersides, said undersides inclining longitudinally outwardly whereby said end portions increase in cross section toward their longitudinally inward ends, said body having a central vertical bore extending therethrough, hooks on and depending from said body at the inward ends of said end portions and located at opposite sides of said bore, said hooks terminating in enlarged terminals having thereon depend ing sharp edge portions for indenting a supporting surface, wire clamping means on said body end portions, and a screw extending downwardly through said bore for threading into a supporting surface so as to force said body toward such surface and embeds said sharp edge portions in the surface, an intermediate part of a wire being adapted to be wrapped around said hooks with end portions of the wire positioned on the undersides of said end portions and engaged with said wire clamping means while the screw is backed out and said body can be rotated on the screw to tighten the wire.

2. A wire tightening and anchoring device according to claim 1, wherein said wire clamping means comprises ratchet teeth spaced along the upper sides of the body end portions, and split clamping rings circumposed on said body end portions and movable inwardly therealong toward the larger cross section inward ends and secured in position by ratchet teeth, the rings having openings defining edges arranged to clamp wire ends passing therethrough against the undersides of the body end portions.

3. A wire tightening and anchoring device according to claim 1, wherein said wire clamping means comprises ratchet teeth spaced along the upper sides of the body end portions, and split clamping rings circumposed on said body end portions and movable inwardly therealong toward the larger cross section inward ends and secured in position by ratchet teeth, the rings having openings defining edges arranged to clamp wire ends passing therethrough against the undersides of the body end portions, the undersides of the body end portions having thereon longitudinal grooves in which the wire ends are adapted to seat and to be held by the clamping rings.

4. A wire tightening and anchoring device according to claim 1, wherein said wire clamping means comprises spiral helixes on the outer ends of the body end portions through which end portions of the wire are adapted to be threaded to clamp the wire ends against the undersides of the body end portions.

5. A wire tightening and anchoring device according to claim 1, wherein said wire clamping means comprises spiral helixes on the outer ends of the body end portions through which end portions of the wire are adapted to be threaded to clamp the wire ends against the under sides of the body end portions, the undersides of the body end portions having longitudinal wire and retaining grooves therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 208,157 Covert .a Sept. 17, 1878 328,824 Squires Oct. 20, 1885 1,555,351 Boynton Sept. 29, 1925 1,747,473 Hollingsworth Feb. 18, 1930 2,450,815 Schultz Oct. 5, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,006,098 France Ian. 9, 1952 

